LAGUNA BEACH : Owners Encouraged to Retrofit Cottages
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City officials are urging cottage owners to retrofit their homes to stabilize them in case of an earthquake.
Candidates for such measures are homes built before about 1945, said building official John Gustafson. At least 100 such properties are scattered throughout Laguna Beach.
The city has a videotape and instructions for property owners showing how they can stabilize the houses.
Gustafson said the project is about as difficult as installing a new patio cover.
“If they do it themselves, it’s relatively inexpensive,” Gustafson said. “It just involves anchor bolts and some plywood.”
Gustafson said he advertised his willingness to explain the procedure for homeowners but no one sought his help.
He said he once reserved a conference room and set up the videotape but no one attended.
With images of the Japanese quake devastation now splashed across television screens, Gustafson said, he hopes more Laguna Beach residents will be inclined to retrofit their homes.
For more information, call Gustafson at (714) 497-0336.
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